How (not) to start your own agency: 5 mistakes you should avoid

From offering too many services to undervaluing your work, these mistakes can hurt your success when you’re starting a creative agency from zero. Learn from creative minds who share how to avoid these traps and build a strong foundation for your agency.

Offering too many services

Watch out for:
Too many services can spread your team too thin and lower the quality of your work. It can also confuse potential clients about what you specialize in. 

Try this instead:
Focus on a few services where you excel. Build a strong portfolio in these areas and expand gradually. Specializing helps you deliver high-quality work and positions your agency as an expert.

“Offering too much can be overwhelming and lead to mistakes, as clients expect everything you promise to be delivered. We experienced this and decided to focus solely on branding, eliminating other services. This allowed us to specialize and stand out from competitors. Only after mastering this did we consider expanding again.”—Denny Kurien, Co-Founder & Creative Director at Rayvn Design

Charging less in the hope of acquiring more clients

Watch out for:
Clients who look for the cheapest option are often the most demanding and least loyal. Also, charging too little can hurt your agency’s reputation and finances.

Try this instead:
Price your services based on the value and quality you offer. Research industry rates to set your prices right. Clients who value quality will pay for it, and these are the clients you want to build long-term relationships with.

“It took me three big strikes of offering far more than I was charging for me to see that I was actually doing a disservice to my business. The moment these clients realized that I was willing to update their site for free, throw in an extra blog on the house or meet just one more time for free, it became an expectation—not something these clients were willing to pay for. Further, my disillusion that this would somehow get our company more clients was completely untrue! Lesson learned? Charge what you know you are worth.”—Fadi Ghaby, business strategist

Doing everything yourself

Watch out for:
As a founder, you might feel the need to oversee every aspect of your agency. At first, you may have to wear multiple hats, but handling everything yourself can lead to burnout and stop your agency from growing. 

Try this instead:   
While it's normal to initially juggle many roles, don’t get bogged down in daily operations. Delegate tasks and trust your team. Hire skilled professionals, including part-time staff. This empowers your team and frees up your time for strategic decisions and growth.

“Being an entrepreneur requires you to do most tasks yourself. I’ve gone from being a designer to a content creator, video editor, manager, and creative director. I felt overwhelmed at some point but I’ve learnt to cope with that by breaking my task into bits. I take little steps when I need to and huge steps when necessary.”—Peace Okagbare, entrepreneur and creator

Giving away creative ideas for free

Watch out for:
Offering free creative ideas or pitches to potential clients in hopes of securing a contract is common. However, this can lead to your ideas being used without compensation, or worse, clients taking your concepts to cheaper competitors.

Try this instead:   
Offer general insights during initial meetings, but save detailed concepts for paying clients. Discuss the budget early to avoid wasting time and make sure both parties are a good fit. Know your worth, price your services confidently based on industry standards, and politely decline requests for free work.

“As creatives, our thinking is our most valuable asset. Yet, the expectation to solve problems for free is exploitative and devalues our contributions.”—Aaliyah Taylor, creative consultant

Working for clients that don’t work for you

Watch out for:
Not all clients are a good fit. Difficult clients can drain your resources and morale. Here are some potential red flags to keep an eye on before starting work:

• They constantly try to negotiate lower prices.
• They have unrealistic expectations.
• They take too long to respond.
• They pay late or with delays.
• They expect completed work ASAP.

The fix:
Be picky about your clients. Know what kind of clients are ideal for your agency and focus your marketing to attract them. Don’t be afraid to say no to clients who don’t fit your agency’s values and goals. Make sure there’s a good match in style and communication from the start.

“For me, the biggest warning sign is when a client keeps asking for more and more revisions after we’ve already landed on a design they approved. It usually means there wasn't a clear vision from the beginning, and that path leads straight to design purgatory.”—Madhuri Basant, graphic design consultant

For more real stories about balancing being a designer and an entrepreneur, check out our blog. In the piece “Behind the scenes” we spoke with four design agency founders who shared their experience of starting a design business.